Mazzaglia faces more charges in UNH student's murder

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DOVER — Seth Mazzaglia, 31, who is charged in the murder of UNH sophomore Elizabeth "Lizzi" Marriott, is facing another round of charges.

Three new indictments were handed up this week against Mazzaglia by a grand jury on Nov. 14 in connection with the murder of Marriott, 19, last October. Mazzaglia is already facing first- and second-degree murder charges alleging different theories of the crime. He is accused of strangling and/or suffocating Marriot on Oct. 9, 2012, before, during and after committing aggravated felonious sexual assault.

A new indictment for conspiracy to commit tampering with witnesses or informants alleges that through letters, Mazzaglia suggested girlfriend and accomplice Kathryn "Kat" McDonough should commit suicide, and he laid out how she should go about it.

In these letters, which McDonough allegedly destroyed, he also laid out a detailed alibi she was to commit to memory and suggested they get married, believing McDonough would then not have to testify against Mazzaglia. He also suggested framing two friends who were allegedly in Mazzaglia's Mill Street apartment after Marriott's murder.

A second indictment alleges Mazzaglia solicited the help of someone outside the jail to help him break out in an "armed and violent" escape after his arrest for Marriott's murder, and that he gave the friend access to his bank accounts in order to finance a means by which to plan the escape, and provided the friend detailed plans and directives about his planned escape.

The last new indictment for falsifying physical evidence repeats many known details about Mazzaglia and McDonough's actions after Marriott's murder, while adding that police believe they put Marriott in a suitcase wrapped in a tarp to remove her from the apartment. Police believe the couple then loaded the suitcase into Marriott's vehicle and drove it to Peirce Island in Portsmouth where they allegedly dumped her body into the Piscataqua River estuary. They later abandoned Marriott's car in a UNH parking lot, according to court documents.

Marriott's body has never been recovered despite many weeks of searching after her disappearance.

McDonough is serving a 1 ½- to 3-year sentence on charges of hindering prosecution as part of a negotiated plea deal she reached with the state in July. McDonough is also expected to testify against Mazzaglia as part of the deal.

Jury selection in the trial against Mazzaglia is tentatively scheduled to begin in May 2014.